National Basketball Association
Auburn 74, Oklahoma 70
When: 8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Officials:
# Ron Tyburski, # DJ Cartensen, # Courtney Green
Attendance:
3462
By The Sports Xchange
Jared Harper and T.J. Dunans scored 21 points each as Auburn beat Oklahoma 74-70 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday night.
Dunans' total was a career high while Harper's tied his previous-best mark.
Mustapha Heron added 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
Auburn started four freshmen for the first time this season.
The Tigers led virtually the entire way but withstood a late Sooners run to improve to 9-2.
Oklahoma dropped to 6-5 with its third consecutive loss.
Auburn led by as many as 17 points early in the second half before the Sooners started coming back.
Oklahoma reeled off 13 consecutive points and got as close as three, 47-44, on Matt Freeman's 3-pointer near the midpoint of the second half.
But Danjel Purifoy's 3-pointer on the next possession kept Auburn's cushion and the Sooners never could get any closer.
Freshman Jordan Shepherd led the Sooners with 13 points.
Even without leading scorer Purifoy for most of the first half, Auburn built a 34-22 lead by halftime thanks to the performance of Dunans in his place.
Purifoy picked up his second foul just 3:25 into the game and Dunans stepped in and scored 13, playing the rest of the half.
Auburn jumped ahead early and steadily increased its lead throughout the rest of the half.
While the Tigers handled the loss of their leading scorer well early, Oklahoma struggled without its top offensive player.
For the first time since he arrived at Oklahoma in 2013, Jordan Woodard was not in the lineup for the Sooners.
Oklahoma's leading-scorer suffered a high-leg injury in practice Tuesday and was unable to play.
Without Woodard, Oklahoma's offense stagnated. The Sooners made just 1 of 9 3-pointers and shot less than 25 percent from the floor in the first half.
Auburn plays at UConn on Friday. Oklahoma is off until opening Big 12 play against Baylor at home Dec. 30.
Top Game Performances
| Auburn |
|
Oklahoma |
|
T.J. Dunans 21 |
Scoring |
Jordan Shepherd 13 |
|
T.J. Dunans 5 |
Assists |
Jordan Shepherd 3 |
|
Mustapha Heron 12 |
Rebounds |
Kristian Doolittle 7 |
|
Jared Harper 11 |
Free Throws Made |
Jamuni McNeace 4 |
|
Mustapha Heron 4 |
Steals |
Khadeem Lattin 2 |
|
Anfernee McLemore 2 |
Blocks |
Kristian Doolittle 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Auburn
|
74 |
44.0 |
8-22 |
22-29 |
10 |
38 |
7 |
8 |
23 |
| Oklahoma
|
70 |
31.9 |
5-17 |
19-26 |
9 |
34 |
3 |
5 |
14 |
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